Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) [MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA] announced the appointment of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jeffrey Hansen to fill the role of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Hansen has been serving in a combined role of interim CEO/CFO since October 2016, when former CEO Rick Whitney stepped down. Prior to joining AP, Hansen held senior leadership positions in the construction, real estate development and property management industries.

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. [REDWOOD CITY, Calif.] (NASDAQ: ACRX) announced that Vincent J. Angotti has been appointed chief executive officer and a member of the company’s board of directors. Mr. Angotti brings over two decades of experience leading most recently as CEO of XenoPort, Inc. Mr. Angotti succeeds Howie Rosen, who will continue on the AcelRx board of directors. Vincent J. Angotti joined XenoPort, Inc. in 2008 as SVP and chief commercialization officer and was promoted to EVP and COO in 2012 and to CEO in 2015. Previous to joining XenoPort, Mr. Angotti held senior sales and marketing positions at Reliant Pharmaceuticals, Inc. from 2001 – 2008. Mr. Angotti began his career in the life sciences industry at Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp., where he worked from 1991 – 2001 in sales and operations positions of increasing responsibility.

Beauty Brands, LLC announced that it has named Caryn Lerner Chief Executive Officer. Current Chairman and CEO, Lyn Kirby, will remain Chairman of the Board. Prior to joining Beauty Brands, she was an Operating Partner at Palladin Capital Group, LLC. Previously, Lerner served as President and CEO of Holt Renfrew, LTD, and President and Chief Marketing Officer of Escada, U.S.A. In addition, Lerner previously held positions with QVC Networks, Jones New York, Barney’s and Bloomingdale’s. Lerner graduated from NYU with a B.F.A. in Theatre.

Racepoint Global [BOSTON] announced that Peter Prodromou, the company’s president since 2013, will immediately assume the role of Chief Executive Officer. Prodromou will also retain the title of president and industry legend Larry Weber, who founded the firm in 2004, will assume the title of Founder and Chairman. Prodromou has been part of Racepoint since its founding. Before Racepoint, Prodromou worked with Weber for several years at the industry’s seminal technology PR agency, The Weber Group. Prodromou was also a partner in an advertising agency and before that, spent several years as part of a deal origination group at Lehman Brothers affiliate, The Boston Company Advisors.

Fuze [CAMBRIDGE, Mass.] announced the appointment of Colin Doherty as the company’s chief executive officer (CEO). Founder and former-CEO, Steve Kokinos, will serve as executive chairman. Doherty joins Fuze after 10 years of holding CEO positions at software-defined networking (SDN) leader BTI Systems and DDoS and security solutions provider Arbor Networks. Most recently, Doherty served as CEO of Dyn,

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt [BOSTON] (NASDAQ: HMHC) announced the appointment of John (Jack) J. Lynch, Jr.as the company’s president, chief executive officer and a member of the Board of Directors. L. Gordon Crovitz, a member of the HMH Board of Directors, will continue to serve as Interim CEO until Lynch joins. Most recently Lynch was the CEO of Renaissance Learning. He has been active in the K-12 education industry since 1999 and was the founding CEO of bigchalk.com. He was later president and CEO of the Pearson Technology Group. Prior to joining Renaissance Learning, Lynch was a member of the executive board of Wolters Kluwer.

Bellatrix Exploration Ltd. [CALGARY] (TSX, NYSE: BXE) announced the appointment of Brent Eshlemanas the new President & Chief Executive Officer and as a member of the Board of Directors of Bellatrix. As previously announced on November 25, 2016, Brent Eshleman was appointed Interim President & Chief Executive Officer of the Company and today’s announcement completes the formal leadership transition as part of the Company’s succession planning efforts. Mr. Eshleman joined Bellatrix as Executive Vice President in July 2012 and was subsequently named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company in September 2014. In connection with Mr. Eshleman’s appointment, Raymond Smith, has retired from his role as President & Chief Executive Officer.

Robert J. LaBelle

XTI Aircraft Company [DENVER] announced that Robert J. LaBelle has joined XTI as its Chief Executive Officer. He joins XTI after three years as CEO of AgustaWestland North America. Prior to that he served as President of AgustaWestland Tiltrotor Company, Inc. LaBelle replaces Charlie Johnson, who was XTI’s interim CEO. Johnson will remain on XTI’s board of directors, a position he’s held since 2014.

Oceaneering International, Inc. [HOUSTON] (NYSE: OII) announced that Roderick A. Larson, who currently serves as Oceaneering’s President, has been designated to succeed Kevin McEvoyas Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Larson has served as President since February 2015 and is expected to continue in that role as CEO. He previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from May 2012 to February 2015. Prior to joining Oceaneering, Mr. Larson was with Baker Hughes Incorporated for more than 20 years.

Julie Ann Freischlag

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center [WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.] announced Julie Ann Freischlag as its new chief executive officer (CEO). Freischlag succeeds CEO John D. McConnell. Freischlag, is currently Vice Chancellor for Human Health Sciences and Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of California Davis (UC Davis). Prior to her career at UC Davis, Freischlag served as the first female chair of the department of surgery and surgeon-in-chief at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions and earlier as professor and chief of vascular surgery at University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).

Scott Hardy

DDS Wireless International Inc. [VANCOUVER, British Columbia and SEATTLE] announced the appointment of Scott Hardy as its next Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hardy served as President of the company’s StrataGen division and succeeds the Founder and original CEO, Vari Ghai. Prior to his arrival at DDS, he spent 30 years with IBM. Mr. Hardy also had a successful business consulting practice and began his career at RBC Royal Bank in their investment banking and IT organizations.

MDA [CHICAGO] announced that Kristine Welker, a member of the Board of Directors, has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer and is succeeding Steve Derks.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [PRINCETON, N.J.] has named Richard Besser, President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Besser will succeed Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. Besser came to ABC News from the CDC where he served as director of the Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response.

The Crypsis Group [MCLEAN, Va.] announced the hiring of Bret Padres as Chief Executive Officer, effective today. Prior to joining The Crypsis Group, Mr. Padres was most recently Managing Director at Stroz Friedberg. Mr. Padres was also the Director of Incident Response for Mandiant (later acquired by FireEye).

Nexsan™ [CAMPBELL, CA and LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM] announced the appointment of Ron Bienvenu as CEO. Bienvenu was appointed Vice Chairman in January and takes on the CEO role effective immediately, replacing Robert Fernander who has been appointed Chairman Emeritus. Bienvenu has more than 25 years of broad industry and leadership experience where he has held several key executive positions, including CEO at Process Software, and founder and CEO of SageMaker, Inc. Bienvenu is also the Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Spear Point Capital Management LLC.

FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated [IRVING, Texas] (NYSE: FCH) has named Steven R. Goldman to be the Company’s next Chief Executive Officer. He will also join FelCor’s Board of Directors. Troy A. Pentecost will continue as President and Chief Operating Officer, after serving as Interim Senior Executive Officer since September 2016. Most recently, Mr. Goldman was a Managing Director at Starwood Capital Group. In addition to his experience with Starwood Capital Group, Mr. Goldman served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Board Member of Sunstone Hotel Investors. Mr. Goldman was also head of Global Development and Asset Management for Hilton Worldwide. Earlier in his career, Mr. Goldman held senior management positions with the Walt Disney Company.

Airborne Wireless Network [LOS ANGELES] (OTC: ABWN) announced it has appointed Michael (Mike) J. Warrenas Chief Executive Officer. Mike has recently served as the Regional Operations and Security Director for ECC International. Before that, Mike was the Director of Operations, Security & Safety for Checchi & Company Consulting, Inc. Prior to that he was the Program Manager for the Human Terrain Systems under the International Security Assistance Force for NATO and the US Army G-2. He has been an advisor to the US Embassy, to COMISAF and CJ2X at HQ’s ISAF in Kabul, Afghanistan. Mike retired from the US Marine Corps with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in 1994.

Embraer [MELBOURNE, Fla.] announced the appointment of Michael Amalfitanoas the President and CEO of its Executive Jets business unit. Amalfitano will succeed Marco TulioPellegrini, who will assume another leadership position to be announced soon. Amalfitano joins the company bringing 35 years of experience in corporate aircraft finance, having held several global leadership positions with equipment leasing companies such as Stonebriar Commercial Finance, Banc of America Leasing, Fleet Capital, and GE Capital.

Quebecor [MONTRÉAL] (TSX: QBR.A, QBR.B) announced that Pierre Karl Péladeau is resuming his role as President and CEO. Pierre Dion, who has held the position since April 2014, has been appointed Chairman of the Board of Quebecor Media and a director of Quebecor. Pierre Karl Péladeau served as President and CEO of Quebecor from 1999 to 2013.

DineEquity, Inc. [GLENDALE, Calif.] (NYSE: DIN) the parent company of Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar® and IHOP® restaurants, announced that chairman and chief executive officer and interim president of the Applebee’s business unit Julia Stewart will resign from the Company. The board of directors has named its current lead director, Richard Dahl, to serve as interim chief executive officer and chairman, effective March 1, 2017. Mr. Dahl has served on the board of directors since February 2004 and has more than 35 years of experience in senior management of public and private companies, including service as chief executive officer, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.

Red River [CLAREMONT, N.H. & RESTON, Va.] announced that Jeff Sessions has been appointed the company’s new CEO. Sessions succeeds Rick Bolduc, who will remain with Red River as Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Sessions joined Red River in 2007 as the company’s first Vice President of Sales. He most recently served as the company’s President.

PCPI [CHICAGO, IL] named Kevin Donnelly as CEO and executive director. At the College of American Pathologists (CAP), he served as vice president and general manager of SNOMED Terminology Solutions.

SSM Health [ST. LOUIS] selected Laura Kaiser as the health system’s new President/Chief Executive Officer. Kaiser will replace William P. Thompson, who will retire at the end of April after 37 years of service with the organization. She comes to SSM Health from Intermountain Healthcare, where she has served as Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer for the past five years. Prior to Intermountain Healthcare, Kaiser spent 15 years at Ascension Health

National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation [CHARLESTON, S.C.] named Mark K. Updegroveas the foundation’s new CEO. Updegrove currently is director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson (LBJ) Presidential Library and Museum. Earlier in his career, Updegrove served as manager of Time in Los Angeles; president of TimeCanada, and publisher of Newsweek in New York.

FLIR Systems, Inc. [WILSONVILLE, OR] (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced that Andrew C. Teich, its President, Chief Executive Officer and a member of its Board of Directors, plans to retire. Mr. Teich will continue to serve in his current roles until a successor is appointed.

Vexos [KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.] announced that David Buckley has resigned his position as President and CEO. The Board of Directors has appointed Paul Jona as the new President and CEO. Jona, most recently served as Senior Vice President of the SATCOM division of Cobham. Prior to Cobham, Paul was CEO and Chairman of CoActive Technologie. Paul began his career at Du Pont de Nemours.

Gavan Thorpe

Boostability [SILICON SLOPES, Utah] President and COO Gavan Thorpe has been elevated to CEO. Thorpe joined Boostability as an Infrastructure Architect in January 2013. He was promoted to COO in 2014 and was given the title of President in mid-2015. Prior to joining Boostability, Thorpe served in an executive position at OrangeSoda and technical positions at Ancestry and Ah-ha.com.

Western Gas Partners, LP [HOUSTON] (NYSE: WES) and Western Gas Equity Partners, LP (NYSE: WGP) announced that Benjamin M. Fink has been named President and CEO. Fink has served as the Sr. Vice President (SVP), Finance and CFO of WES since 2009 and of WGP since its formation in 2012. Don Sinclair has stepped down from his WES and WGP officer positions as well as his role as SVP, Midstream at the Partnerships’ sponsor, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. Sinclair will continue to serve as Senior Advisor to Anadarko and the Partnerships. Fink also will replace Sinclair as a director of the Partnerships and will remain the Partnerships’ principal financial and accounting officer until his successor is named. Fink has 25 years of financial and operational experience and joined Anadarko in 2006.

Wells Fargo & Company [SAN FRANCISCO] (NYSE: WFC) announced that Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Stumpf has retired from the Company and the Board. The Board has elected Tim Sloan, the Company’s President and Chief Operating Officer, to succeed him as CEO. Sloan also was elected to the Board. Sloan will retain the title of President. Sloan joined Wells Fargo 29 years ago, launching a career that would include numerous leadership roles across the Company’s wholesale and commercial banking operations, including as head of Commercial Banking, Real Estate and Specialized Financial Services. He became president and COO in November 2015, when he assumed leadership over the Company’s four main business groups: Community Banking, Consumer Lending, Wealth and Investment Management and Wholesale Banking. Previously, he headed the Wholesale Banking group after serving as the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and, prior to that, as the Company’s Chief Administrative Officer.

Doug Albregts

Sharp Corporation [MAHWAH, N.J.] announced the appointment of Doug Albregts to the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Sharp Electronics Corporation (SEC), their wholly owned subsidiary that manages the Americas business. Albregts will officially succeed Toshiyuki Osawa, who previously held the position. This new role comes in addition to Albregts’ existing position as President of Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) which manages Sharp’s Business to Business Operations. Albregts joined Sharp as President of SIICA in 2011. Prior to joining Sharp, Albregts held several executive positions within the industry, including Vice President, Enterprise Business Division, for Samsung Electronics of America and General Manager at Canvys, a division of Richardson Electronics. Albregts also held a 12-year tenure with NEC, culminating as Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing and Business Development for both the commercial and consumer market segments.

Progress [BEDFORD, Mass.] (NASDAQ: PRGS) announced the appointment of Yogesh Gupta as its new chief executive officer. Phil Pead, Progress’ current CEO, is retiring but will continue to serve on the Progress board of directors. Prior to joining Progress, Gupta was president and chief executive officer of Kaseya, Inc. from 2013 until 2015. Prior to Kaseya, Gupta was chief executive officer at FatWire Software, from 2007 until it was acquired by Oracle in 2011. Prior to FatWire, Gupta was chief technology officer and chief strategist at Computer Associates, with whom he served from 1989 until 2007.

ABRA Auto Body & Glass [MINNEAPOLIS] announced that Ann Fandozzi has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and that Duane Rouse has assumed the role of Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Ms. Fandozzi joins ABRA from Ride Group Inc., where she served as CEO. Prior to becoming CEO of Ride Group, Ms. Fandozzi held executive positions at Whirlpool and DaimlerChrysler. Earlier in her career she gained experience at Ford Motor Company, McKinsey & Company and Lockheed Martin Corporation.

Swift Energy Company [HOUSTON] (OTC: SWTF) appointed Robert J. Banks as interim Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Banks replaces Terry E. Swift, who retired as Chief Executive Officer effective October 7, 2016. Mr. Banks will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Company, a position that he has held since 2008.

Washington Prime Group Inc. [COLUMBUS, Ohio] (NYSE: WPG) announced the appointment of Lou Conforti as Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Mr. Conforti, a current Director of the Company, previously served as interim Chief Executive Officer since June 2016. He will remain a member of the Company’s Board of Directors. Most recently, Mr. Conforti was the executive director and global head of strategy at Colony Capital. Prior to his work at Colony Capital, Mr. Conforti served as the global head of real estate for UBS O’Connor and also served as a managing director and head of real estate investments at Stark Investments.

Banyan Technology [ELYRIA, Ohio] announced the appointment of Brian Smith as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Banyan Technology, Smith served as President & CEO of Proforma.

Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) [WASHINGTON] announced the selection of John Auerbach as its new President and CEO. Auerbach served as the Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Health, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, and, most recently, Associate Director for Policy and Acting Director of the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Previously, he was, from 2012 to 2014, a distinguished professor of practice in health sciences and director of the Institute on Urban Health Research and Practice at Northeastern University. From 2007 to 2012, he was the commissioner of public health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He served as the President of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in 2010-2011. Prior to that, Auerbach was the executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission for nine years.

GrandSouth Bank [GREENVILLE, S.C.] (OTC: GRRB) named JB Schwiers President and CEO. Schwiers follows Ronald Earnest who recently announced his retirement from these leadership roles. JB Schwiers has most recently been serving as executive vice president and COO of GrandSouth. Prior to working at GrandSouth, Schwiers served for 10 years at First Citizens Bank in Greenville and for 15 years at Summit National Bank and 10 years at Southern Bank/First Union National Bank.

Wanderport Corporation [SANTA MONICA, CA] (OTC: WDRP) announced that Eric Brown has resigned as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. The Company appointed Anna Seidman as the Company’s interim CEO.

Jeff Hansen

Adolfson & Peterson Construction (AP) [MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA] announced the appointment of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Hansen to fill the role of CEO. Former CEO Rick Whitney has stepped down to pursue other opportunities. Hansen has served as AP’s CFO since 2012 and has a distinguished career with AP.

Oath Craft Pizza [BOSTON] announced that Patrik Hellstrand has joined the team as President and Chief Executive Officer. Hellstrand most recently served as Corporate Group Vice President at Equinox.

SIGA Technologies, Inc. [NEW YORK] (OTC: SIGA) announced that Phil Gomez has been appointed the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Current CEO Eric Rose will become Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. Dr. Rose has been Chairman of the Board since 2007. Most recently, Dr. Gomez served as a Principal at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the Pharma & Life Sciences Management Consulting practice. Prior to joining PwC and PRTM, Dr. Gomez worked at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, where he established the Vaccine Production Program at the Vaccine Research Center in 2001. Prior to NIH, Dr. Gomez spent nearly a decade in the pharmaceutical industry at Abbott Laboratories, Sanofi Pasteur, and Baxter Healthcare.

ClosingCorp [SAN DIEGO, Calif.] announced that Bob Jennings has been named as the company’s new Chief Executive Officer. Jennings was previously executive vice president of RealEC® Technologies, a division of Black Knight Financial Services. Jennings began his career with IBM Corporation in finance before moving into sales and sales management.

Antti Pasila

Kiosked [NEW YORK] announced that Antti Pasila has been named Chief Executive Officer. He was previously Chief Strategy Officer. Pasila co-founded the company in 2010 with Micke Paqvalen, who previously served as CEO and has now been appointed Chairman of the Board.

Clinicient Inc. [PORTLAND, Ore.] announced that the Company has appointed T. Kent Rowe as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to joining Clinicient, Rowe served as Senior Vice President of Sales at ZirMed. Prior to ZirMed, Rowe served as the vice president and general manager of the hospital and large practice division of GE Healthcare IT. He also spent 17 years with IDX Systems Corporation, advancing from sales executive to regional vice president of sales to national vice president of sales before the company was acquired by GE Healthcare.

NextFifty Initiative [DENVER] announced it has named Margaret Franckhauser, R.N., as its first CEO. Franckhauser will join NextFifty Initiative on January 1, 2017. Franckhauser will join NextFifty Initiative from Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice, where she has spent 19 years as CEO. Prior to her role as CEO of Central New Hampshire VNA & Hospice, Franckhauser served as a nurse practitioner in medically underserved and rural communities in North Carolina and New Hampshire.

Atkins [TAMPA, Fla.] hired George Nash as CEO of its North America region. The former AECOM executive will join Atkins effective October 31, 2016. At AECOM he most recently served as Group President of Energy, Infrastructure and Industrial Construction. Prior to AECOM, Nash was with URS Corporation in a variety of senior leadership positions including President and Chief Operating Officer of the Energy & Construction Division. In addition to his experience at AECOM and URS, he held a number of executive roles with Washington Group International, including President of their Power Business Unit where he led the merger and integration of that business with URS Corporation. Nash started his career with Stone & Webster, Inc. with various roles in project and program execution.

Sam Mitchell

Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group [WAKEFIELD, MA] announced the appointment of Samuel Mitchell as its Chief Executive Officer. Mitchell began his career at Sentinel over 16 years ago, holding varied roles within the organization and most recently serving as President of Sentinel Benefits Group, LLC the largest of Sentinel’s business units.

CREDO [SAN FRANCISCO] named Ray Morris CEO. Morris joined the wireless industry in the late 1980s. Since then, he has held executive roles in mobile services, marketing technology, engineering and hosting, including COO at GreatCall Inc. Most recently, Morris served as CEO and CTO of ClickBank.

PacketZoom [SAN MATEO, Calif.] announced the appointment of Shlomi Gian as CEO. At Akamai, Gian co-founded the Emerging Mobile Business Unit and served as the Head of Mobile Market Development. Prior to Akamai, he was General Manager of Mobile Solutions at Cotendo before it was acquired by Akamai. Prior to Cotendo, he served as General Manager of Mobile services at Keynote Systems. Gian began his mobile career at DeviceAnywhere, which was acquired by Keynote Systems in 2012.

Deltic Timber Corporation [EL DORADO, Ark.] (NYSE: DEL) announced the retirement of Ray C. Dillon as the company’s President and CEO. Concurrently, the group elected D. Mark Leland, a current member of the company’s Board of Directors, as interim President and CEO. Leland will retain his position on the Board. He is the retired former president of the Midstream Division of El Paso Corporation. Prior to that position, he served in various positions including Executive Vice President and CFO, El Paso Corporation and Senior Vice President CFO, El Paso Production Company. He also has served as Chief Operating Officer of GulfTerra Energy Partners.

Invoca [SANTA BARBARA, Calif.] announced Gregg Johnson as its new CEO. Most recently, Johnson led Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s social marketing product line. Prior to that he drove product strategy and development for Salesforce Chatter. Earlier in his career, Johnson was a consultant at Boston Consulting Group and worked in sales, marketing and product roles at several startups.

Jim Hinton

Baylor Scott & White Holdings [DALLAS and TEMPLE, Texas] announced the appointment of James H. Hinton to president and chief executive officer of Baylor Scott & White Health effective Jan. 16, 2017. Hinton, a recognized leader with more than two decades of CEO experience, comes to Baylor Scott & White from Presbyterian Healthcare Services. Hinton will succeed retiring President and CEO Joel T. Allison.

JPay [MIAMI] announced that Errol Feldman has been named as the company’s new CEO. Mr. Feldman succeeds JPay’s founder Ryan Shapiro who stepped down from the position after 15 years.

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